AI vs human receptionist: what each really costs in 2026
Pricing units in this market (salaries, minutes, calls, unique callers, platforms) make options hard to compare. This guide puts them on the same footing.
Contents
The cheapest way to answer a phone is rarely the cheapest way to handle a call. A comparison has to count what each option costs and what it leaves for someone else to do afterwards.
The in-house receptionist
The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median receptionist's pay at $18.27 an hour, or $38,010 a year, in May 2025, across about 947,500 jobs1. Pay is not the whole cost. Across private industry, benefits accounted for 30% of employer compensation costs in June 20262. Applied to the median wage, that puts a receptionist at roughly $54,000 a year in pay and benefits. That figure is our calculation, and it excludes recruiting, cover for holidays and sick days, and equipment.
What it buys is judgment and a familiar voice, for about 40 of the 168 hours in a week, on one call at a time.
The human answering service
Answering services sell receptionist time by the minute or the call. At published prices34:
| Service | Plan | Effective unit cost |
|---|---|---|
| Ruby | $250 for 50 minutes; $720 for 200; $1,725 for 500 | About $5.00, $3.60 and $3.45 a minute |
| Smith.ai (human) | $300 for 30 calls; $810 for 90; $2,100 for 300 | About $10, $9 and $7 a call, plus add-ons |
Both cover nights and weekends at the same price. Smith.ai charges extra for some tasks, such as $1.50 to book an appointment and $0.50 for each follow-up message4. Ruby says it charges no setup, onboarding or after-hours fees3.
The AI receptionist
AI services are priced in four different units56789:
| Unit | Example | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| Minutes | Dialzara | $29 for 60 minutes to $349 for 1,000; overage $0.48 to $0.35 a minute |
| Minutes | RingCentral AI Receptionist | $49 for 100 minutes; $0.50 a minute after |
| Minutes and credits | Frontdesk | $99 ($79 annually) for 200 voice minutes; then $0.25 a minute in credits |
| Unique callers | Goodcall | $79 for 100 callers to $299 for 2,000; then 79¢ to 15¢ each |
| Calls | Smith.ai (AI) | $150 a month at $2 a call; $500 a month at $1.67 a call |
Goodcall's own comparison puts live answering services at $1.50 to $1.90 a minute7. That is the vendor's estimate, but it is directionally consistent with the published human prices above.
How to compare quotes
- Convert every quote to cost per answered call, using your own average call length.
- Add the per-task fees: bookings, transfers, follow-up messages, extra integrations.
- Count the work left over: every call that ends as an emailed summary still needs a person to act on it.
- Price your busiest month, not your average one.
The cost that quotes leave out
A receptionist service that sends a summary by email has answered the call, not handled it. Someone still books the job, opens the work order or updates the CRM. That re-keying is the hidden cost in most comparisons, and it is why integration matters as much as the per-minute price. Our guide to connecting an AI receptionist to a CRM covers it in detail.
A platform model prices differently again. OpenLazarus publishes plans from $100 a month including the same amount in AI credits, plus managed hosting from $150 a month10, and its receptionist teammate works on the company's own records11. Its pricing page does not itemize phone lines, so ask for the full cost of your design.
A plan for choosing
- Pull a month of call data: volume by hour, average length, and how many calls went unanswered.
- Price three options on that data: an in-house hire, a human service and two AI services.
- Add the follow-up work each option leaves for staff, in hours per week.
- Run the cheapest credible AI option on after-hours and overflow for a month.
- Compare cost per handled call, including the follow-up hours, and decide.
The right answer is the option with the lowest cost per call that is fully handled, not the lowest cost per call answered. For the full ranking, see the main guide.
Questions buyers ask
How much does a human receptionist cost a year?
The median receptionist in the US earned $38,010 a year in May 2025, according to the BLS. Benefits made up 30% of private-industry compensation costs in June 2026, so a receptionist at the median wage costs roughly $54,000 a year in pay and benefits, by our calculation, before recruiting, cover for leave and equipment.
How much does a human answering service cost?
At published prices, Ruby charges $720 a month for 200 minutes of live receptionist time, about $3.60 a minute. Smith.ai’s human plans charge $810 a month for 90 calls, about $9 a call, with overage from $8.50 to $11.50 a call.
How much does an AI receptionist cost per call?
It depends on the unit. Smith.ai’s AI plans charge $2 to $1.67 a call. RingCentral charges $49 for 100 minutes and $0.50 a minute after that. Goodcall charges by unique caller, from 79¢ down to 15¢ each beyond the plan. Dialzara’s overage runs from $0.48 to $0.35 a minute.
Sources
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Receptionists. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 29 Oct 2026. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9 Sep 2026. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- Plans and pricing. Ruby. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- Virtual receptionist pricing. Smith.ai. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- AI receptionist pricing. Dialzara. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- AI Receptionist pricing. RingCentral. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- Goodcall pricing. Goodcall. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- AI Receptionist. Smith.ai. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- AI receptionist pricing. Frontdesk (My AI Front Desk). Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- Questions about OpenLazarus. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
- The agent library. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
Updated 8 Nov 2026: First published.